In spite of being a successful artist with prestigious institutional support, Zak Smith still responds to our last-minute requests for comics with results so maddeningly inspired they bring tears to our eyes.

A compilation of the first 13 entries in the "battle blog" where Zak Smith and Shawn Cheng take turns drawing monsters fighting each other. It's not exactly an exquisite corpse, but it is exquisite, and there are many corpses. Follow the latest moves at www.roadofknives.com.

Two-time Partyka guest artist Zak Smith now has his own fancy full-color monograph, designed and typeset by our very own Shawn Cheng. Among the works reproduced are several paintings from his recent Girls in the Naked Girl Business series, drawings from Pictures of What Happens on Each Page of Thomas Pynchon's Novel Gravity's Rainbow (featured in the 2004 Whitney Biennial), and images from the mural-sized painting 100 Girls and 100 Octopuses, some of which were first seen here at Partyka.